Louise Bernard, with Alexis Patri
Laurent Guimier, information director of France Télévisions, is targeted by a motion of no confidence from the editorial journalists on June 30th. The journalist’s face has been known to France 2 viewers since he replaced Thomas Sotto in “L’Émission politique” in November 2021.
Headwinds at France Télévisions for Laurent Guimier. The director of information for the public audiovisual group has been in turmoil since the group’s journalists announced that they had decided to submit a motion of no confidence to him. The journalists of France Télévisions reproach in particular to the one who co-presents The Political Program the non-renewal of one-third of the editorial staff’s fixed-term contracts. He had however guaranteed the opposite a few days earlier to the Society of Journalists of France Televisions, promising to strengthen the editorial services for the summer.
A vote that puts Laurent Guimier in the hot seat
But this point of friction between the director of information and the journalists of the editorial staff is in reality only a drop of water which caused an already very full vase to overflow. Relations have been strained for several months and the editorial staff criticizes the person who took up his post in September 2020 for “disorganization” and a “lack of interest” for his teams.
The decision to vote for a motion of no confidence was recorded Thursday at a general meeting. An electronic vote will be open to journalists on permanent contracts from the national editorial staff of France Télévisions on Thursday, June 30. The result could cost Laurent Guimier his job. Indeed, Michel Field who was director of information for France Télévisions in 2017 had to leave his post after the vote of a motion of no confidence against him.